Connor

I directed/edited/wrote this short movie (along with my partner Michelle) for TV class. Our very own Atticus has one of the four main roles! Check it out below.

This movie take place late at night so let’s call it a 12 am video!

Let me start this off by saying I’m a huge Glee fan! I know it’s corny and cliche, but that’s why I love it! They do great covers on the show and whether or not you think their versions are as good as the originals, they help make great classic songs popular again! Ok so now to the good stuff!

SPOILER WARNING!

Ok so, the show starts off with Sue telling Mr. Schuster that she is going to be a judge for regionals! Quite a way to start. As usual, we go through the argue-with-the-principal scene. All this succeeds in doing is creating a reminder for Mr. Schuster that if Glee club doesn’t win regionals, the club will be canceled. So after going through some pre-show drama, regionals begins.

Setlists

First, some random school we have never seen on the show before, sings an Olivia Newton-John and Josh Grobin medley. Josh and Olivia are guest judges, so everyone suspects this school cheated and knew the judges beforehand. Side Note: This school has some crazy and hilarious name like oral adrenaline…oral hygiene…oral singing…. something along those lines.

Next, is New Directions! They sing three songs. (All by Journey)

Faithfully

Any Way You Want It

Don’t Stop Believin

Last, is Vocal Adrenaline. We only see them sing one song, but it’s a long and amazing one! Bohemian Rhapsody originally by Queen

Now back to the summary. As our Glee Club is walking off stage, Quin’s mom comes to talk to Quin. If you forgot, her mom had kicked her out of the house because Quin got pregnant. Quin’s mom has a story to tell about how she left her husband because he cheated on her. As they are reuniting, Quin’s water breaks!!! She is rushed to the hospital while Vocal Adrenaline is performing and gives birth to a girl, who she names Beth. Then, we switch back to Rachel and her mom. Rachel asks her to come and teach Glee Club. Rachel’s mom says no because she is tired of teaching.

So, now it’s results time!! Ready to find out who wins!? Well, the random school comes in second. Ready? …….Vocal Adrenaline comes in……..first (ugh). That leaves New Directions in third. So, now Glee Club is over…right? Wrong, Sue (YES SUE!) stands up for Glee club. and blackmails the principal into letting Glee Club go another year! Also, we see that she voted for New Directions to win Regionals!

Have you had enough surprises yet? Well, theres more. Rachel’s mom adopts Quin’s baby! (I know right!?!?)

All in all, this episode was full of surprises! It was a great end to the second season and reminded me of the good old days of Glee (back in the first season). New Directions sang some great songs, but I still liked the first season finale better. Glee will be back in the fall and will start over again on a trip to sectionals! I’m looking forward to seeing Curt get a chance to sing some more. After seeing the live Glee tour, it’s obvious that Curt and Rachel have the best voices by far! Glee!

Right now you are viewing SeeTheHour.com, a website on the Internet. The Internet is a gigantic mess of data and we are but a small speck of that data. Compared to sites like Google.com, we are nothing. This is what’s great about the Internet! We can exist and have the exact same share of the Internet as Google does! Your Internet provider can’t tell you that Google is more important then we are (even if they are). So why does this matter?

Net Neutrality

Say you have Comcast Internet service. As of now, Comcast’s only job is to allow you to access the data on the Internet as fast as possible. Comcast is not concerned with what data you are trying to access. It works to deliver all data on the Internet to you equally. The service provider is neutral in its delivery of network information, hence net neutrality.

Why is this important?

If net neutrality did not exist, the Internet would be a very different place. Say, like before, you had Comcast Internet service. Well, without net neutrality, Comcast could decide that some sites are more important than others and that these sites deserve to load faster. They would probably make sure sites like Comcast.com loaded as quickly as possible. The Internet would turn into something that resembles TV and Radio. Service providers could block or slow down sites that they see as unimportant. This would devastate the freedom and innovation of the Internet, it would also devastate small sites like SeeTheHour.com

So, who is actually trying to end net neutrality?

Internet service companies have vocally expressed their interests in ending net neutrality. They would like to create a tiered system of service. This would open up faster connections for some sites and limit connections to other sites. In order to be at the top of this tier, websites would have to pay service providers. This would be devastating to any website that couldn’t afford to pay thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of dollars to service providers. These sites would have their connections limited and would run much more slowly. Beyond making money, service providers argue that they are running out of bandwidth and need the power to limit parts of the Internet. Are you willing to trust Comcast to use this power fairly? I know I’m not.

I want to support net neutrality! What do I do?

In 2005, the FCC made an attempt to end net neutrality and to obtain stronger control over the Internet. Currently, there is legislation passing through congress to legally support net neutrality. Such a law does not currently exist and, if passed, would make net neutrality a legal right. Unfortunately, most Internet service providers have plenty of money to hire lobbyists. These political lobbyists are working to convince our political figures to vote against net neutrality. We can’t let this legislation fail! Email your state representative! Complain to Comcast, AT&T, Verizon and others like them! President Obama has pledged to stand up for net neutrality, send him a letter telling him to keep his promise! Fight for net neutrality before it’s too late. At the very least, sign the petition shown below to show your support for net neutrality.

For more information check out http://www.savetheinternet.com/

Also watch Hank Green explain Net Neutrality in this video:

Behringer 1202 FX

7/10 Stars

Price $99.99

The Behringer 1202 FX is an audio mixer. The general purpose of a mixer is to mix up a bunch of different things at different volumes and put them into one output.

I bought the 1202 FX to use in my room. Did I need it? No, but it’s fun to have a mixer in your room! First some basic features of the 1202 FX.

Now, before you start telling me that you need more inputs or more features, let me say that this thing is about as cheap as you can get. The price is a key factor in my rating of this product. It’s cheap, so keep that in mind as I list my complaints and solutions.

Complaints and Solutions

1. Audio Quality is average at best on this thing. You get what you pay for when it comes to quality. There is some good news though. Chances are, if you are buying a $100 mixer, that you aren’t going to have outstanding (and expensive) speakers. To hear the quality problems on this, you’re gonna need at least $700 in speakers. Although, once you try to use it with nice speakers, the poor quality is very obvious. Side note: I tested this mixer on some nice JBL PA system speakers and that’s where I’m getting this information from.
2. Inputs are a constant struggle with this. Only 4 mic inputs and only 4 stereo inputs? I need 9! Well, I have a simple solution to this. If you are willing to give up stereo on two inputs, it should help you out. Take advantage of the left and right inputs on the stereo channels to plug two different devices into the same channel (one to left and one to right). Then, you can choose the device you want using the “pan” nob on the mixer! Suddenly you have turned 8 inputs into a potential of 12!
3. Effects Processor on the 1202 is interesting. It has 99 “different effects!” Don’t get too exited yet though, most of them are just repeats of the same effects with different settings. For example, more than 30 effects on the processor are just simple reverbs. That said, it’s everything I ever wanted it to be. The effects are corny and cheap and virtually useless in most professional situations, but they’re perfect for me. I just wanted some cool effects so I could show off my awesome mixer to my friends. These effects are perfect for it too!
4. EQ is a mess on this thing. Luckily, I don’t really ever need to use it. The 3 bands of EQ on the board are set to fixed ranges, which is the main problem. For me, it means that I can’t even turn up the bass in a song without getting some other stuff brought up along with it. This isn’t a serious problem, but it is slightly annoying. I paid $100, what did I expect?

Overall I give this mixer 7/10 stars. Sure there are plenty of problems, but don’t expect to be able to buy anything better in this price range. If you have $100 to spend on a mixer, this is the one to buy. I recommend it to anyone as the best mixer for $100 or less. If you have more money, spend it, but for most non-professional uses I would recommend trying the Behringer 1202 FX.

Where to Buy

Behringer 1202 FX – Mixer reviewed in the article

Behringer 1222 FX – More expensive model with more inputs, but same quality issues

Mackie 802-VLZ3 – More expensive model with same amount of inputs, but higher quality

Let’s start with a quick BIO on Mr. Jobs. Steve Jobs is the Co-Founder and current CEO of Apple. Steve founded Apple with his friend Steve Wozniak, in 1976. Jobs created the first computer that was accessible to the average person. In 1985, Jobs was fired from his own company. This, obviously, was not the end of his career and he quickly moved on. He joined up with two new companies, Pixar and NeXT (yes Steve Jobs created the iPod and Toy Story). Jobs led Pixar, an animation company that is best known for creating such movies as Toy Story and Finding Nemo, to become the leading animation company in the world. Pixar was bought by Disney around the same time that NeXT (a computer technology company) was bought by Apple. Back working for his own company, Jobs quickly rose to the top and took the position of CEO. As CEO, Jobs found a way to incorporate the technology he had developed with NeXT and was able to make Apple profitable again. So obviously the man has an amazing resume, but is he really a genius? Connor, aren’t you just saying that because you’re an Apple fanboy? No and here are my reasons why.

1) He Decided That a Computer Doesn’t Have to be a Complicated Device

Any self-respecting “techy” is cocky about what he or she does. It’s out nature. We like to think that what we do is hard and can’t be done by anyone else. Often, this is true, but what we tend to overlook is that everything can be simplified. Once a tech device is simplified it is suddenly very easy to use, which makes us mad….because now everyone can do what we do. Steve Jobs realized this with the computer. At the time, Windows was a mess that only Bill Gates and his friends could figure out. The computer wasn’t about getting things done it was about trying to figure out how to get things done. With the Macintosh operating system, this was a thing of the past. Suddenly, computers were accessible with minimal tech knowledge! This led Windows to create a graphical user interface as well and there you go! Computers took off!

2) He Decided a Computer Could Look Good and Still Work Great

Imagine this. A computer the size of an entire room…so big that second computers have to be built to access the main computer (FYI this is how the Internet was born). 10 years later….at least it can fit under your desk, but you can’t even hear yourself think with the fan that buzzes like crazy whenever it’s on. FAST FORWARD. Cardboard Macbook Pros are being used by real estate agents to decorate a house (yes I’ve actually seen this a couple times). To have a Mac is not only a about having a great computer, but it’s a fashion statement. Look at any modern movie…look at the computers used as props in the background of scenes…9 times out of 10 its gonna look like a silver Macbook Pro.

3) He Makes Sure Apple has Great Costumer Service

Flash back to 2 years ago. I’m on the phone with HP because I have blue screen (street name for a common Windows virus) on my PC laptop. I’m told it’s a Windows problem (fair enough because it is). I call Windows….”oh that’s an HP problem, you’re gonna have to talk to them.” *Connor begins to yell* OH REALLY!? WELL THAT’S INTERESTING BECAUSE THEY TOLD ME IT WAS YOUR FAULT! I know I’m not the only one who has had this problem. This was my main motivation for buying a Mac. I went to the store and they told me that, if I signed up for Applecare, I could call 1-800-my-apple for anything! Oh and trust me I do (they probably dislike me, but they always are very polite anyways). The great thing is, I don’t just call when I have a problem (in fact I’ve never really had a major problem). I call for things like…what program do you recommend for converting video codecs…..can you teach me how to do this in iWeb….I don’t like iWeb what do u recommend i use instead…..how do i access FTP remotely? It’s like having a personal computer tutor who is there whenever you need him (also who is very polite and uses perfect grammar and calls me Mr. Smith). Try doing that on a PC Atticus!

4) Apple Makes its Own Hardware

There are two parts to a computer, hardware and software. They both rely on each other. The Windows software model: create a fairly good operating system and decide to sell it to hardware manufacturers, who will sell it to the public. Oh but wait, there is all kinds of different hardware! We (Windows) have to make our software compatible with all of it, so we can sell our software to everyone! Result: A lot of extra coding and data every time you try to do something. This is the reason that Macs are fundamentally faster than Windows computers. The Mac operating system is optimized to work with one type of hardware, Apple’s hardware. This way, they can eliminate all the other stuff. Windows, on its own and without any programs open, will use over a gigabyte of ram (Windows Vista and 7 use the most ram). Depending on the type of computer that you have, that could be up to half of your total ram! (not leaving a lot for all those games that you guys talk about). Mac OSX uses only half a gigabyte because it is optimized for its hardware! It is literally faster! Windows hasn’t been able to run on that level of ram since well before Windows 95, in the dark age of Windows.

Steve Jobs managed Apple with a plan. He combined the good aspects of Windows with new Apple concepts. Contrary to what my friend Atticus may have you believe, Macs are just as easy to use as a Windows computer. They just take getting use to, as do all computers.

SeeTheHour.com has been been re-launched! In this video we’ll introduce you to four new staff members! (and our favorite Chinese friend, Kim)